More and more, drone footage allows us to see the world without having to pay a camera crew or hire a helicopter. The best use of a drone, in my humble opinion, is to film motorcycle travel from angles you’d never otherwise achieve.
PLAY IN THE DIRT
This documentary does just that and, contrary to the name of the film, the filmmaker is the rider is the star of the show, and does everything himself. By himself, too.
The title, “Never Ride Alone,” is generally good advice, especially when you are riding seldom-ridden roads, off in the wilderness, far from any help. That, though, is exactly what Scott Englund has done with this production.
He supports a mission in Peru where underprivileged children are educated and fed–and funds it wholly through his adventure touring business, called “MotoMission.” It is a combination of social enterprise and community support. You can rent a dirt bike from him and tour the Andes to your heart’s content, for a day or four weeks.
The film itself, though, is mostly Englund himself, riding around the Andes and showing, through gorgeous drone footage (and some from the camera he wears), the gorgeous landscape surrounding him. There are several spots that, as a rider, are tough to watch. He gets himself into some hairy predicaments on loose, steep slopes. He rides a motorcycle into places I would hesitate to hike. The Andes are very young, very pointy mountains.
He attempts to climb several different named peaks in the Andes. One of the more difficult parts of riding in this area is the elevation. If you are not used to existing at elevation it takes days to acclimate, let alone be ready to tackle the extremely technical rides he attempts.
The hour and twenty minutes drags in spots but it’s at the very least, excellent background dirt-biking footage. There are several moments where you question the sanity of a rider who would willingly put himself into so much danger by riding all these spots alone, but who are we to judge other people’s adventures, right?
Every time I wondered if he had ever made it out, I remember (spoiler alert!) that he alone is filming all of it, and if he hadn’t, there’d be no movie. So, yeah, he lives, apparently.
Watch the full feature at FilmFreeway.